BuzzFeed News released a statement Saturday standing by its Thursday report that Donald Trump directed his then-attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow after the Mueller team disputed the report Friday. (Variety)
“As we’ve re-confirmed our reporting, we’ve seen no indication that any specific aspect of our story is inaccurate,” BuzzFeed News spokesperson Matt Mittenthal said. “We remain confident in what we’ve reported, and will share more as we are able.” (Mediaite)
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office denied aspects of the blockbuster BuzzFeed news report. Mueller’s normally tight-lipped operation issued a statement Friday night indicating that the BuzzFeed report contained inaccuracies, at least with respect to its statements about the information gathered by the special counsel’s team. (Politico)
Before Mueller’s statement, the report was the No. 1 story on cable news Friday, and a number of pundits and TV news anchors had stated that if the BuzzFeed report was indeed true, Trump’s action is grounds for impeachment. Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace remarked that what transpired is “very disturbing, if true,” but that it should be taken “with a giant block of salt.” (TVNewser)
Anthony Cormier, half of the reporting duo behind the story, told CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday that his sources are “solid” and that he was confident their information would be proven accurate over time. “I’m solid. My sources are solid,” Cormier told host Brian Stelter. “This is going to be borne out, Brian. This story is accurate.” Stelter asked Cormier about the possibility that his sources are wrong. “They’re not,” Cormier responded. “They’re not. I’m confident.” (HuffPost)